It's All In the Cards
by Katana Mama
Summary: There's a dark force in Domino, and it's after Yami! Having kidnapped Joey in order to lure Yami into a dizzying scavenger hunt all over the city, Yami must now entail the help of Bakura and a new transfer student, and find Joey before it's too late...
1. The First Move Is Made

Prologue  
  
It was another regular day in Domino Town. Nothing out of the ordinary was happening. It was business as usual. Or at least everyone thought that was the case. None of them knew the dark truth. A stranger walked among the residents of the peaceful city. This shady person cloaked in secrecy and veiled in darkness walked down the street with only one thought in their mind. To accomplish the task they needed to finally have the necessary power to conquer the world. Walking along at a suspiciously slow gait, they either didn't notice or didn't care when they ran into random people on the street. One man was most upset upon being shouldered by the character, and grabbed him to tell him off about it.  
  
"Hey, buddy! Why don't watch where you're g-"  
  
The man never got to finish his sentence, as upon looking into the eyes of the hooded man, he lost his power of speech. He then grabbed his throat and slowly sunk to the ground, his face twisted in horror as he was slowly having his breath robbed from him. That...and his mortal soul. The hooded figure's gaze never left the man until his eyes glazed over and he slumped to the ground dead, strangled to death and soul taken from him. But the man would have no marks to indicate it to the coroner, as the hooded figure had not used his hands to commit the crime. The figure looked down at its simple victim for only a matter of seconds after it was done, then went back to the task before them, leaving the man to be discovered by some other pathetic human.  
  
The figure only walked another city block before reaching its destination. He smiled slightly, his eyes narrowing slightly. The eyes the man whom it had killed had had to look into while he died. Those blood red orbs that swam with all the souls it had collected over the milleniums that had passed, which now contained his. It chuckled quietly to itself as it jumped into a tree near the place it had traveled so far to come to. The place where its plans of world domination would start to come together. Domino High School.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Yugi and Joey sat in their classroom having another duel just for fun whilst Tristan, Téa and Bakura watched. Yugi was winning the duel as usual, but only by a slight margin. Joey truly had become a better duelist ever since he and Yugi swept the Duelist Kingdom Tournament so long ago, and he only continued to get better over time. It was currently his turn and he was confident that he had the duel won. The field consisted of Joey having one card face down in one of his Magic/Trap slots on his field. Yugi had his Giant Solider of Stone in defensive mode, his Dark Magician in Attack Mode and one card face down on his field. Joey drew a card from his deck, and smiled ruefully as he looked to Yugi.  
  
"Heh, take a look at this, Yuge. Sorry to say it, but it looks like I'm gonna win this one, bud." he said smugly.  
  
"We'll see, Joey. Make your move." Yugi replied calmly.  
  
"Okay. You asked for it, Yuge," he said pulling a card from his hand. "I play Last Day of Witch."  
  
"'Last Day of Witch'?" Yugi asked quizzically.  
  
"Yeap. It's a Magic card that allows me to send all the Magic-user monsters my opponent has on the field to the Graveyard. Say buh-bye to your Dark Magician." Joey replied smiling.  
  
"My. That's a pretty powerful card, then." Bakura commented.  
  
"You bet." Joey replied. "And that's not all I'm doing this turn. I'm summoning Yamadron in Attack Mode, and powering it up with my face down card, Salamandra. I think I'll use it to take out your Giant Solider of Stone."  
  
"Wow, Joey. That combo would take him out too, if I didn't have this Trap card waiting for your Yamadron."  
  
"Wha?! You had a Trap card waitin'?!"  
  
"Yup. My favorite one, Mirror Force! That sends any attack launched at me right back at you, so that would destroy your Yamadron and switching my Stone Solider to Attack Mode will take your Life Points down to zero. I win."  
  
"Aw, man. I never win against you."  
  
"That's why he's the King of Games, and you're just his entourage." Tristan teased.  
  
"Ha, ha. Very funny, Tristan. You think you're a real comedian."  
  
"Sure do."  
  
"Well, I don't think your jokes are funny."  
  
"Well, you've got a messed up sense of humor."  
  
"Aww, come on, you guys. Knock it off." Yugi said getting up from his spot at the table. "You dueled very well, Joey. It's nothing to be mad about. You really did almost beat me. That new Magic card you've got is powerful."  
  
"Yeah. I just got it yesterday in that pack of cards I managed to buy from your Grandpa. I'm really glad he let me have it."  
  
"I'm surprised he let you have it, given your tab's broken the $500 mark." Téa said.  
  
"Heh. It's because he likes me so much."  
  
"That and you promised to help in the store until you've paid it off. Starting today, remember?" Yugi said.  
  
"Oh, yeah." Joey said sadly. "I forgot about that."  
  
With that development, class started and everyone took their seats. The teacher stood at the head of the class and looked very excited.  
  
"Today, class," he began, "we have a new student joining us. She's transferred here from the Mid-West, and will be staying here in Domino from now on."  
  
With that, the door opened and a girl walked in. She was slightly tall, and cut a slender figure. She had long, white hair that came all the way down to her feet and had the end of it tied with a pink bow to match the Domino school uniform for the girls. She was very pretty and had the palest blue eyes anyone had ever seen. As she walked to the front of the classroom, the gaze of almost every boy in the room followed her, but none more so than Joey and Bakura. She stopped right beside the teacher and bowed respectfully to the class.  
  
"Good morning. My name is Rayne Misaro. I'm actually from here in Domino. I moved to America when I was ten, but my parents decided to move back. It's nice to meet you all."  
  
"Do any of you have questions for Rayne about her time in America?" the teacher asked.  
  
Instantly, the hand of every boy in the class went up except for a few. Joey was practically jumping out of his chair to have his hand raised higher than the others to get noticed, which was what caught Rayne's attention.  
  
"Umm.That guy with his hand raised really high," she said pointing to Joey.  
  
"Heh. Uh, where, uh, did you live in, uh." he stuttered.  
  
"Where did I used to live?" she corrected him. "I lived in Ohio. It was an okay place to live, except in the winter. It gets really cold, like ten below. We got a lot of snow too, but I like the snow, so I didn't mind that so much. But I've not only just lived there in America. I've been everywhere, plus I've been on almost every continent in the world. Um, the guy with the white hair in the back," she said calling on Bakura.  
  
"How's high school different here than where you lived last?" he asked.  
  
"Well, one thing is that most high schools over there don't require you to wear uniforms. Only vocational schools and private schools do, but there are a few that require it that are public, mostly elementary, but some are high schools. You can usually wear anything you want as long as it follows the dress code."  
  
The class was surprised by this as hardly ever heard of a high school that didn't require uniforms, and some seemed jealous of the fact the kids over there didn't have to wear uniforms day in, day out. The rest of the morning was spent asking Rayne questions about the town she lived in, her favorite color, what music she listened to, and more intellectual questions asked by the girls of the class, like if she's ever been to the nation's capitol and such.  
  
By the time all the questions had been answered, it was time for lunch. All the kids filed out and the boys made an instant ring around Rayne, asking her whether she'd like some of his lunch or if she wanted to go out sometime by some of the bolder ones. She shooed them all away when they got outside, but not before she received five phone numbers and refused to give hers out at least twice as much. She sat on a wall to eat her lunch in peace while all the boys watched from afar. This included Joey and Bakura, who were staring at her intently while Yugi and the others tried to snap them out of it.  
  
"Hey, Joey. You're going to burn a hole in her if you keep staring at her like that," Tristan said.  
  
"Yeah, the same with you, Bakura." Yugi commented while waving his hand in front of Bakura's face.  
  
"I'm sorry. I just can't help it," he said sheepishly.  
  
"Yeah. She's just too pretty not to look at," Joey said dreamily. "And she's so interesting...and pretty."  
  
"I'll admit, she did have a pretty cool back story," Téa voiced. "It must have been nice to do everything she has. But if you two like her so much, why don't you go over there and talk to her?"  
  
"Well, I don't think they have to now, Téa. She's coming over here," Yugi noticed.  
  
Indeed, Rayne had left her seat on the wall and was walking over to the group of friends. Joey and Bakura instantly turned a brilliant shade of red, much like cherries. Rayne smiled at them all fondly as she stopped in front of them and extended her hand to Yugi.  
  
"Hello. You're in my class, aren't you?" she asked sweetly.  
  
"Uh, yeah. I'm Yugi Muto," he responded, accepting her hand blushing.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Yugi."  
  
"I'm Téa, and this is Tristan." Téa told her. "We're in your class, too."  
  
"Oh! It's a pleasure, then. I'm so happy to be back in Domino. It's been a really long time. I'm glad my family decided to move back and stay here from now on. But I came over to ask a question. Are you the Yugi Muto that won the Duelist Kingdom 'Duel Monsters' Tournament?" she asked.  
  
"Why, yes, I am."  
  
"And I came in second!" Joey added.  
  
"Wow, that's great!" she said excitedly. "So that must mean you're the ones I've been hearing so much about."  
  
"I guess. You know we all play, but only Joey and I have won anything from it. Another boy in our class, Seto Kaiba, he plays as well."  
  
"I know all about him. The former Champion, holder of the only three Blue Eyes White Dragons in the world. He was the one you beat to begin with. That really started your career, did it not?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, I guess you could say that." Yugi responded.  
  
"Well, I was wondering if either of you would like to duel sometime, but I guess I can extend the invitation to all of you. I'm quite the avid duelist myself, but the place where I used to live hardly had any duelists."  
  
"Sure! That would be great. I'd be happy to have a duel with you, Rayne." Bakura said happily.  
  
"Me too! Me too!" Joey piped in.  
  
"Of course we would. In fact, why don't we go inside and have a duel now?" Yugi suggested.  
  
"Yeah! That would be nice," Rayne agreed happily.  
  
They all were going back inside when a basketball sailed over their heads. Joey noticed it and watched it hit the ground and started rolling away. A kid asked for some help, so being the nice guy he was, Joey went to go get it.  
  
"I'll be in there in a second, you guys. Just going to give that kid back his ball."  
  
"Oh, okay. Hurry up, Joey." Yugi told him.  
  
"Sure thing, Yuge," he responded.  
  
Joey ran after the ball, which had rolled through some bushes. As he went through, he saw the ball under a tree. It was cradled in some roots that had grown above ground and sat there. Joey trotted over to it and picked it up, noticing the tree for the first time.  
  
"Huh. I've never really looked at this tree before. Lucky it was here, otherwise this ball might've went in the street."  
  
Rustling from above caught Joey's attention. He looked up expecting to see a squirrel or something, but whatever it happened to be was being blocked from his line of sight by the tree's leafy canopy.  
  
"Maybe it's a bird or somethin'." he mumbled trying hard to see what it was.  
  
That was when a hooded face broke through the leaves, and stared back at Joey with its blood red eyes. Joey stepped back in shock and dropped the ball. The figure dropped down from the tree and began advancing on Joey.  
  
"Joey..Wheeler." it said in a raspy voice.  
  
"Who.What the heck are you?!" Joey yelled steadily backing away.  
  
"You.will come.with me."  
  
"Wha? No way!"  
  
"You have..no choice!"  
  
It lunged at Joey and latched onto him with unrelenting power. Joey struggled hard against the figure, but the grip was too strong. Joey punched his assailant in what should have been his stomach, but only met a hard surface that he almost broke his hand on. The figure in return scratched wildly at Joey's face with sharp claws and accidentally ripped his jacket. Joey, realizing the guy really only had a good grip on the sleeve of the jacket, somehow slipped out of it and began to run off, but the figure's eyes glowed crimson and Joey stopped dead in his tracks. He was lifted off the ground being surrounded by a red light and floated back the hooded figure. It pulled out an envelope and threw it on the ground on top of Joey's torn jacket. It then grabbed Joey and began to levitate with him.  
  
"The pharaoh.will come.for you," it said darkly in its raspy voice. "Then.it will.begin."  
  
With that, there was a brilliant flash and both the figure and Joey were gone, leaving only the torn jacket and the envelope behind. The envelope, which the figure had been careful to check to see that it was not damaged before leaving, had a message scrawled on the front of it. It said: "To Yugi Muto". 


	2. Unlikely Allies

Chapter 2  
  
The kids who were playing with the ball Joey had gone to find came running fast and furious into the classroom where Yugi and Rayne were dueling. One of them clutched the envelope Joey's kidnapper had left behind. They rushed over to Yugi panic-stricken.  
  
"Hey, Yugi! Joey's gone!" one of them yelled.  
  
"What? What do you mean he's gone?" Yugi asked seriously.  
  
"I mean somebody took him! We went to see what was taking him so long with the ball, and when we came to the spot he went to, he was gone and this was all that was left! Somebody had to've taken 'im," the kid said handing Yugi Joey's torn jacket.  
  
"Joey kidnapped?" Tristan said incredulously. "No way. My buddy would have never gotten himself kidnapped," he said shaking himself.  
  
"I'm telling you, man. When we got there, all that was left was his jacket and an envelope. The place had leaves everywhere that had been messed up lately, like a big fight happened."  
  
"Oh, my." Rayne said worried. "Perhaps he was kidnapped."  
  
She then thought about something the kid had said.  
  
"Wait. You said there was this jacket and an envelope?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. Give it to him, man!" the kid doing all the talking told the other. He looked at the envelope in his hand and then handed it to Yugi.  
  
"'To Yugi Muto'? Why would whoever took Joey want something to do with me?" Yugi asked aloud.  
  
"Well, open the thing and see what's inside. Perhaps it will tell us something." Rayne said impatiently.  
  
"Right." Yugi said tearing the envelope open. Inside was a letter that told them exactly what was going on.  
  
Pharaoh,  
  
It has been a long time. Too long. I haven't forgotten what you did to me all those millennia ago. Now is the time for vengeance. If you wish to see your vessel's friend alive again, you will have to find me. I will make it easier on you and stay in town, but because I am doing this, you have a deadline. If you do not find me within three days, he dies. If you get the police involved, he dies. This is a spat between you and I. I will leave you a little something so you can figure out where I am, but I doubt that the King of Games can figure out my puzzles alone, so you can have two people help you. If anyone other than those two tries to help, I will kill him. Trust me, I will know who they are. The fact is very simple. Find me, I will make you pay for what you did; don't find me, I will make the boy pay. Happy hunting.  
  
Your Old Friend  
  
P.S. The ocean has such a calming effect, does it not?  
  
As Yugi read the letter, anger like he had never felt before built up inside him. Upon finishing it, he crumpled it up in a clenched fist and began to tear up. He felt hopeless and fell back into his chair crying. He put his head down on the desk and thought about how his best friend had been kidnapped and if he got anyone involved except the two people he chose, Joey would die. He couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't let it happen. That's when he decided to bring out the person who was not only the party the letter was addressing, but he one who would know the most about what was going on.  
  
Yugi felt his spirit leave his body and recede to the Millenium Puzzle that hung from his neck and the Spirit of the Millenium Puzzle, Yami, who was the great Pharaoh that saved the world 5,000 years ago, took his place.  
  
Upon the completion of the switch, Yami rose abruptly and walked quickly out of the room, followed by the rest of the group, Rayne included. The look in his eyes told everyone to clear out of his way or else. He was a man on a mission, and no one was about to stop him. He went and sat outside on the wall and thought about the stipulations Joey's kidnapper had set.  
  
"Who would be best suited to help in a situation like this?" Yami thought. "One wrong move, and Joey could lose his life."  
  
Yami looked at the crumpled letter in his hand, then scowled and tightened his grip on it. It was then that he thought about something the letter had said. He reopened it and reread the line aloud.  
  
"'The ocean has a calming effect, does it not'. Hmm."  
  
The rest of the gang came up just as Yami came down off his perch. He looked to them and knew exactly who he wanted to help him. Something, however, made his senses go on alert when he faced the group. The Millenium Emblem appeared on his forehead as he looked on, wondering what it might be.  
  
"Have you discovered something that would help, Yugi?" Rayne asked.  
  
"It's her," he thought. "There's something about her that's making me feel like I need to have her help me."  
  
"Did you, Yugi?" Téa asked.  
  
"I believe so," Yami answered, "but also I know who I need to have help me."  
  
"Well, I know it's not me. I'm never any good at puzzles." Tristan said aloud.  
  
"No, Tristan. It's not you. I need to have Bakura and Rayne help me."  
  
"What? Me?" Bakura asked shocked. "How could I possibly help?"  
  
"I think that you being a fellow Millenium Item holder might help and you've been helpful before. And something tells me Rayne will be extremely helpful with this."  
  
"I don't see how, but I'm happy to help any way that I can." Rayne replied.  
  
"I as well. We're with you, Yugi." Bakura added.  
  
"We understand that we wouldn't help here." Téa said. "Tristan and I are pulling for you all. We hope you bring Joey home safe."  
  
"I'm glad you understand and I'm glad I have all of your support. I think I know where we need to go next. The letter said "The ocean has a calming effect, does it not?' If my hunch is right, the next clue will be.."  
  
"Ah! At Domino Harbor!" Rayne finished.  
  
"Exactly. Let's get going." Yami said turning to leave. "Joey's well-being is more important than school."  
  
"Agreed." Rayne and Bakura said in unison.  
  
The trio walked past the gates of the school and began making their way to Domino Harbor, in hopes of finding a new clue to lead them to Joey's whereabouts. Watching them from afar, however, the hooded figure looked on with grim satisfaction. It knew Yami would figure out the area the first clue would be hidden without any trouble, but finding the clue itself would not be so easy. 


	3. Seaside Search

Chapter 3  
  
Yami, Bakura, and Rayne had arrived at Domino Harbor. The large boardwalk- like area stretched pretty far and was just as wide. It would take a while for them to search the entire area, so they decided to recheck what they had already to try to narrow the search.  
  
"Perhaps there's something in the letter that we're overlooking that could help." Bakura said.  
  
"Maybe." Yami commented. "We know he said that the ocean has a calming effect, so wherever he hid the clue, you can see the ocean from there."  
  
"Well, we can count this section out then," Rayne said aloud. "The view of the ocean is blocked from here by all the stores."  
  
Yami nodded in agreement at Rayne's observation.  
  
"Yes. That's true. Well, we know that much. Also, all the stores face in this direction, so he wouldn't have hid the clue in one of them."  
  
"Right. Perhaps checking along the ocean-side walkway might help." Bakura chimed in.  
  
"That's a good place to start, Bakura." Rayne agreed. It was then that she looked to the letter still clutched in Yami's hand and saw the envelope that it came in.  
  
"Yugi, let me see that envelope," she said reaching for it. He did so, and she looked inside it. There was a boat rental receipt inside.  
  
"Check this out," she said handing it to Yami.  
  
"Hm. He might have thrown the clue into the Harbor. Perhaps to make the search harder."  
  
"I doubt it. He wants us to find him, so he probably put the clue, whatever it is, in an easy-to-find spot. I think this is just to throw us off. Obviously a fan of red herrings."  
  
"You're probably right. Let's do what Bakura suggested, and check the walkway. We'll split up and meet up back here in a half hour." Yami said.  
  
Rayne and Bakura nodded in agreement and headed off in different directions to check the walkway. Yami went his own way and scoured everything for a possible hint.  
  
***  
  
As Bakura walked along his part of the walkway, he began to feel odd. He felt light-headed, and then he began to black out, but he wasn't falling. The dark presence that inhabited his Millenium Ring brought himself out and took control of Bakura's body. YaBakura looked at the ocean, which he was standing in front of, and thought hard about the present situation.  
  
"Hm. So Joey's gone missing, and little Yugi wants my help," he thought. "Whomever took him must know about the bond Yugi and the Spirit of the Puzzle share, as it was mentioned in the letter. It's quite possible that the kidnapper is a thief like myself going after the Puzzle. I'd better go along with this little rescue mission for the time being, to make sure the Puzzle remains in little Yugi's possession. That is, until I decide to take it for myself. Plus, I might be able to get to know that girl better. Bakura seems quite taken with her, and I can't quite blame him."  
  
With a final few thoughts and a last look at the ocean, YaBakura went to the task of scouring the boardwalk for anything that might lead to Joey's whereabouts.  
  
***  
  
Rayne was looking frantically about for the clue. She scoured the boardwalk, leaving no possible place unsearched. It was as if she was a professional at it. As it happened, she was.  
  
Rayne was actually an undercover agent that was investigating a recent string of murders and thefts, and the trail happened to lead her to Domino Town. She enrolled in the school system as to not raise suspicion about a child moving to the city near the beginning of the school year, but not going. Any digging the police might have done would probably blow her cover. True, she was a bit young for the job, but the fact was, Rayne was a genius. She'd graduated from a prestigious college when she was only 13 and joined the police force as a reference assistant a year after that. Her work was some of the best in the business, and eventually, Interpol noticed her. They hired her to do the same job she'd been doing, but eventually a case came up that needed a young agent to go undercover, and Rayne was the likely candidate. She turned out to be a natural in the field, and stayed there ever since.  
  
She'd collected an interesting track record over time, arresting nearly 40 wanted criminals, and getting promoted on a regular basis. She also had one of the highest criminal casualty records, as she had a very bad temper and often took it out of the people she arrested. Ever since was made an orphan by a purse-snatcher that decided he wanted to move onto bigger crimes and killed her parents, Rayne had had a lot of angst. She couldn't stand those types of criminals, or ones that harmed children, so this case was fast becoming personal-like.  
  
"If I were that lunatic, where would I hide a clue of substantial importance?" Rayne mumbled to herself.  
  
That wasn't the only thought she had on her mind, though. She was thinking how the Yugi boy could be connected to her suspect. It was all very confusing to her. In the letter, the guy called Yugi a Pharaoh. She'd studied Ancient Egyptian history in college and knew the Pharaoh often gathered a vast amount of enemies over his reign. She figured the guy must be an Egyptian history lover and a duelist, so he would consider Yugi a "King" in some aspect, as he was the Duel Monsters Champion. He'd won the Duelist Kingdom tournament as well and earned the title of "King of Games", which was mentioned in the letter. She also knew that Duel Monsters had a base in Egypt from a report that she had read by Professor Arthur Hawkings on some ruins he had discovered with another man that had hieroglyphics depicting many things that can be connected to Duel Monsters. His findings and theories were mocked and laughed at by his peers, but she thought they had a lot of reasoning. That's how her fascination with Duel Monsters started. She was quite a good duelist, but often had no one to battle with. That's why she jumped on the chance to take the case that would lead her to the hometown of the Champ. Now that she was deeply involved, however, dueling was the last thing on her mind. Many things in this case were disturbing, and she had spent many a night trying to connect the crimes this slippery criminal had so obviously committed.  
  
The first crime was the theft of some Ancient Egyptian relics from a museum in Cairo. They seemed to be just your regular artifacts excavated from one of the Great Pyramids. Bracelets, cups, precious jewels. Everything one would expect to find in a Pharaoh's tomb. It wasn't your regular smash and grab job, though. There wasn't anything broken or damaged in the place, including the case where the relics were kept, and the security system wiring box on the roof. No prints were found at the scene and the security cameras showed no one entering or leaving the area where the items were kept except by the occasional patrolling security guard. That was the first of many mysteries this case would produce.  
  
The second crime was the homicide of a family who lived near Giza. It was one of the most gruesome things Rayne had ever seen. The entire family's entrails had been pulled out through their mouths. Their brains were pulled out through their noses, just as the Ancient Egyptians had done to prepare a dead body for mummification. Even the pet cat hadn't been able to escape the murderer. By this time, he'd decided to show his sense of humor and left a calling card behind. It was a Duel Monster card, "The King of the Yamimakai." Rayne knew that the word "yamimakai" translated extremely loosely from Japanese would mean "dark spirit world." Whoever was doing this felt he was the King of Darkness. It made Rayne think why he would want to kill these people. By doing some digging, she found that the family was actually the overseers of a Pharaoh's tomb. They made sure that archeologists didn't deface the tomb to much, and often helped the guardians of the tomb. It was then a connection between the crimes arose. The items stolen from the museum had been excavated from the tomb of the same Pharaoh the murdered family had overseen. She figured the guy had some whacked-out obsession with this particular Pharaoh and wanted to wipe out everything that had a connection with it. She thought that he would go after the guardians of the tomb and was on the lookout for him around where they supposedly lived, but soon found out he'd made his way to Japan.  
  
The most recent theft was not too far away from where she was currently located. Some scrolls had been stolen from an Ancient Egypt exhibit at another museum, again connected to the same Pharaoh as before. They were said to be incantations of great power with which the Pharaoh had used to lock a great evil away. Rayne then connected more dots in this child's puzzle. The Pharaoh was also mentioned in the findings of the report she had read about the ancient ruins. It was said that a game of great power called the Shadow Games, which Rayne had figured Duel Monsters was based on, was played between Pharaohs in that day and age. They used real monsters, however, and played this "game" in a dark place called "The Shadow Realm." Unfortunately, the monsters soon became too hard to control, and ran rabid in the land of Egypt. They were locked away for some time, but then some sorcerers found a way to release the creatures from their tombs and start the games all over again. It was then that the Pharaoh decided to step in and locked the magic away forever in several different items, sacrificing himself in the process. The stolen scrolls were found outside the Pharaoh's tomb in an archeological dig, and put on display in an Egyptian museum. These scrolls were then signed out to a museum as part of a special exhibit, and came to Japan, where they were stolen. Again, A King of the Yamimakai card was left behind, no prints were left and not a shard of broken glass or snipped wire was found. Whoever this clown was, he was beginning to piss Rayne off.  
  
Now she was in Domino, as she figured he would come to the Champ's hometown, and she could now add kidnapping to his already long list of crimes. Rayne was determined to find Joey, no matter what it took. She'd seen a lot of kidnapping cases in her time as an Interpol agent, some with happy endings; others, not so lucky. All of them made her angry to some extent or another, and this was no exception. She'd find that clue if it was the last thing she did. And she would find the connection between her guy and Yugi. It was just that, unlike her current clue, she didn't know where to start looking for it.  
  
***  
  
Yami looked about in every place imaginable. The search was frantic, but to the average person, it looked as if he was just walking along the strip with something on his mind. Thoughts raced at all speeds in Yami's complex conscious. Where would it be? Why did he take Joey? Can I find him in time? Yami shook himself. It was no time to be thinking like that. He would find Joey. And he would make his kidnapper pay dearly for what he put them both through. But another thought entered just then. How would he tell Joey's family about what was going on? Perhaps Téa and Tristan had already solved this problem, but how were they taking it, if that was the case? How would they take it if he were the one that had to tell them? Yami envisioned the look on Joey's sister Serenity's face if had to tell her. He couldn't bear it. No, he wouldn't do it. He'd find Joey, or kill himself trying. Not just for Joey's family's sake, but for Yugi and everyone else's as well.  
  
***  
  
The three comrades returned to the rendezvous point empty-handed a half- hour later. None of them had had any luck in finding any trace of a clue.  
  
"This is ridiculous," Rayne said with a bit of anger in her voice. "Three very intelligent people look for one clue, and they all come up with nothing."  
  
"I admit, that does seem out there," Yami commented. "Perhaps we did read the clue wrong."  
  
"I don't believe so, Yugi," the now normal Bakura said aloud. "I just think we were looking in the wrong place. Perhaps that line meant something else."  
  
"Perhaps so, Bakura."  
  
Rayne was fuming silently as her mind ran over different things the clue might have meant. Perhaps it meant that they should have went to the aquarium, or something else that has to do with water.  
  
"No, that's not it," she thought. "It has to be here, I know it. Bakura is right. We're not looking in the right spot."  
  
It was then she looked up and noticed a peculiar storefront a bit away from where she, Bakura and Yami stood. It was painted all blue, and had an array of ocean life painted on it. To one, it might look like you were seeing a picture from an underwater camera. Rayne saw the sign on it and figured out why.  
  
"Uh, Bakura? Yugi? Remember when we said that the clue couldn't be in one of the stores? I do believe we were mistaken," she said pointing to the store.  
  
Yami and Bakura looked in the direction where she pointed and looked at the building with slight shock. It was named "The Ocean."  
  
"You could be right, Rayne. Let's go check it out," Yami said decisively.  
  
They walked over to the store and entered. What was inside was nothing like one would expect from the choice of paint outside.  
  
It seemed sort of like a room straight out of the Woodstock era. Strong incense that smelled sort of like a variety of flowers and mint mixed together were burning and music sort of like what's often associated with India played in the background. The bright orange walls made Rayne's head hurt, but she still looked around. All over were different objects used for meditation. Artifacts used in Buddhism and other Eastern and Far Eastern religions filled the artful shelves and lined the walls. In the back was the checkout counter and a guy who looked pretty much like he was higher than a kite stood behind it.  
  
"Welcome to my store, dudes and dudette," he said in a sort of hippie-like voice. "What can I do for you?"  
  
"Umm.Well. We were wondering if any strange characters might have come in here recently." Rayne told the guy.  
  
"Aren't we all strange characters?" he responded.  
  
"Perhaps," Rayne said with a bit of impatience in her voice, "but I mean someone looking like they were up to no good. We're looking for something he might have left here."  
  
"Oh, him! Yeah, yeah.. I know who you mean now. That dude had a wicked aura going on. Ruining the whole vibe of my store, ya know?"  
  
"So he was here?" Bakura asked eagerly.  
  
"Yeah. Didn't get a good look at the guy, though. He always wore this hood that shadowed his face and all. Looked like that Sith dude from Star Wars."  
  
"Did he leave anything here?" Rayne asked, not at all hiding her growing anger with having to deal with this guy.  
  
"Yeah. An envelope. He said some people were going to come looking for it. Guess that means it's you guys. So, do you know him?"  
  
"Not exactly," Yami replied, "but we will soon. You can count on it."  
  
"Well, here you go," he said handing the envelope out to them. Rayne walked to the back and took it from him.  
  
"Thanks," she said flatly. "Note to self:" she thought. "Have this place checked for drug possession."  
  
The three walked out of the place relatively quickly and opened the envelope. Inside there was another letter to Yami. Rayne handed it to him and he read it aloud.  
  
Pharaoh,  
  
So you've figured out my first puzzle. Very good. But it's only going to get harder. This next one is a blast from your past, or should I say, your vessel's past.  
  
Taller than the Sphinx  
  
Harder than stone  
  
This place of times past  
  
You well know  
  
Find the Pharaoh of this place. He will not be willing to give you the clue, for he does not know he possesses it. He would probably not help you even if he did know he had it. Of course, you do not know what to look for, so here is another little something for you to ponder  
  
These walls, so hard  
  
Hide what you seek  
  
Try to find it quickly  
  
For your friend grows weak.  
  
Good luck to you, Your Highness.  
  
Your Old Friend  
  
P.S. I hope you have your mind set on reclaiming your little vessel's lost friend. For my puzzles will be more difficult as you progress.  
  
Rayne and Bakura looked at one another with blank expressions, then at Yami.  
  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Rayne said in an annoyed voice.  
  
"I don't quite know." Yami replied.  
  
"I think I do," Bakura said after pondering the riddle a bit. "Allow me to see that letter."  
  
Yami handed the letter over to Bakura and he read the riddle over. He seemed to think hard about what he thought might be the solution and finally nodded.  
  
"I do believe we have to pay Kaiba a visit," he told them.  
  
"What? Kaiba?" Yami said incredulously. "Why would we have to go to him?"  
  
"Well, look at what the letter said. 'Taller than the Sphinx; Harder than stone; This place of times past; You well know.' That would probably mean the Kaiba Corporation building, where you and Kaiba had your first duel. Kaiba is the CEO, so he would be the Pharaoh, in a manner of speaking. It also said he wouldn't help even if he knew he had the clue, which I don't doubt that Kaiba wouldn't. Then, look at this."  
  
He showed the letter to Rayne and Yami, and pointed to the "P.S." at the bottom.  
  
"Do you see where the letters are different? Thinner, I mean? It seems that the letters S, E, T and O are written like this, which would spell Seto, Kaiba's first name."  
  
"Hmm. I guess you're right, Bakura. It does seem like we'll be paying Kaiba a visit."  
  
"I take it you all have had your share of history with him besides the first duel you had?" Rayne asked.  
  
"You could say that." Yami replied. "All I know is, getting this next clue won't be easy at all."  
  
"Well, I know one thing. If Kaiba's anything like that last guy, I'm going postal on him." Rayne commented.  
  
"That would just about fulfill every wish all of us had about dealing with Kaiba." Bakura told her.  
  
"Good. Then I'd be doing you a favor." Rayne said as she let Yami lead the way to the Kaiba Corp. building.  
  
"You would.think that.Detective," the hooded figure said from his perch in a nearby tree. "But you'd be.dead wrong." 


	4. Infiltration

Chapter 4  
  
Joey awoke in a dark, dank room. His head was throbbing, and the cut on his face was slightly burning, but he couldn't rub either of them, as his hands were manacled to a wall. That was when Joey realized exactly what was going on. He remembered about the strange guy who grabbed him, and then used some wicked power to bring him here. Fear and panic quickly took over, and Joey began kicking wildly and yelling colorfully worded curses left and right.  
  
"Hey! Let me go! Get me outta here! I want out!" he yelled frantically.  
  
"No one.can hear you.boy." came that familiar voice Joey recognized as the one belonging to his kidnapper.  
  
"You! Where are ya?! I want out now! If you don't let me go, you're gonna be in a world a hurt when I get outta this."  
  
"You.are in.no position.to be.making threats." the voice replied.  
  
"Why you.Let me outta here now! Why don'tcha show ya stinkin' face, ya coward!  
  
"In.due time," it replied. "For now.you.can stay.in my.little dungeon.and wait.for the Pharaoh.to arrive."  
  
"Pharaoh? What the hell are you talkin' about?"  
  
"You.will.see." came the cryptic reply. "Everyone shall.soon see."  
  
And with that, the voice remained silent. Joey called for it to come back and explain itself, but it never hailed him. He was left all alone with nothing but his thoughts and the rats of the dungeon to comfort him.  
  
"Man, how did this happen? Why am I here? And who's the 'Pharaoh'?" he thought. "This is stupid! I hope Yuge and the others are lookin' for me. I need to get outta here."  
  
He then sighed heavily  
  
"Whoever that guy is, he's nuts. Who knows what he'll pull." Joey said aloud.  
  
He struggled fruitlessly against the manacles that bound him and slipped dejectedly downward so that he was simply hanging by his arms.  
  
"Find me soon, guys," Joey thought, "Or this guy could really go off the deep end."  
  
***  
  
Rayne, Yami, and Bakura sat outside the Kaiba Corp. building. It was still a bit early in the afternoon, and school hadn't let out yet, so they wouldn't expect Kaiba for a while. Rayne, being the impatient hothead she was, started pacing angrily as they waited.  
  
"Geez. This is ridiculous! We've just got to sit here and wait until he gets here?"  
  
"Well, we just can't go in and look around without permission." Bakura told her.  
  
"He's right, Rayne." Yami said. "The security would probably stop us before we got too far."  
  
"Screw the security!" Rayne yelled at him. "Joey's who the hell knows where, having who the hell knows what done to him, and we're just sitting here twiddling our thumbs!"  
  
"Trust me, Rayne, I know how you feel, but dashing headlong into something we know nothing about is no way to go about anything."  
  
Rayne simply scoffed and sat down on a wall that lined the entrance to the Kaiba Corp building. She was thinking how one call to her superiors would get her in quicker than you could say "government agent." Then she really thought about it and a smile slowly spread across her face.  
  
"Excuse me for a second, guys. I'll be right back," she said rising.  
  
"Where are you going?" Yami asked.  
  
"To make a phone call. Uh, have to make sure my parents don't worry. I doubt we'll be home at regular times, ya know?"  
  
"Oh. I see your point." Yami replied, barely able to catch himself from starting the suspicious look he was about to give her.  
  
"Right." Rayne said over her shoulder as she walked over to a tree a good distance away so they couldn't hear her conversation. Once she was over there, Bakura came closer to Yami and spoke in a hushed tone.  
  
"I think she's up to more than what she just told us."  
  
"I'm thinking the same thing, Bakura, but we can trust her. I know we can." Yami replied.  
  
***  
  
Rayne took out her cell phone and hit one of the speed dial buttons. Instantly, she was connected to a secure government line so her call couldn't be traced outside Interpol. A secretary answered the line relatively quickly, and talked with an even tone.  
  
"Agent name and ID password," she said in her calm tone.  
  
"Agent Rayne Misaro, password Tekken."  
  
Some typing was heard in the background and the secretary replied in a more relaxed tone.  
  
"ID verified. What can I for you, Agent Misaro?"  
  
"I need to speak with the Chief. Now."  
  
"Right away. I'll direct connect you."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
Instantly, the connection with the secretary was broken and ringing began on the phone. Two seconds later, a middle-aged man with a gruff voice answered.  
  
"This is Chief Grimalk. What is it?"  
  
"Chief. It's Misaro."  
  
"Ah. Misaro. What's happened? A new lead?"  
  
"Yes, sir. I'm currently at Kaiba Corporation in Domino City. The suspect has kidnapped a local boy, and I believe that we can get another clue to his and our perp's whereabouts inside. The thing is, the CEO isn't there right now, and the civilians assisting me say we can't get in without him being there."  
  
As soon as the words passed her lips, Rayne regretted saying them.  
  
"You've got civilians in on this case?! Have you completely lost it, Misaro?!"  
  
"No, sir. It's just that-"  
  
"It's just that nothing! You know how dangerous this guy can be! You remember that slaying back near Giza?"  
  
"Yes, sir. I do. But it's that they can be of great use. The suspect sent one of them a letter setting stipulations about him having to find him, or he'll kill the boy."  
  
"What? Why didn't you say so?"  
  
"You really didn't give me a chance, sir."  
  
There was a heavy sigh at the other end of the phone.  
  
"All right, I admit that. But that's only one. You said 'civilians.' Who are the others?"  
  
"There's only one other, sir. The letter said two people had to help. The boy picked another and myself. He's simply here to help decipher these riddles about where the clues are."  
  
"Hm. You make sure they don't get into anything too dangerous, Misaro, or that's your ass in a sling."  
  
"Yes, sir."  
  
"Well, what do you want from me?"  
  
"I need you to make a call to Kaiba Corp. Tell them that an agent is coming in to do an important search. That way, there's no problem."  
  
"If I do that, you're cover'll be blown with the civilians."  
  
"No. I plan to go in before, and motion them in after everything is cleared."  
  
After a silence for about ten seconds, Grimalk finally answered.  
  
"All right. I'll make the call. Just be careful, and protect those civilians. You got me, Misaro?"  
  
"Yes, sir. Thanks."  
  
"And Misaro?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Try not to hurt the guy too bad when you catch up with him."  
  
"No promises."  
  
"Mi-"  
  
But the Chief never got to finish his sentence, as Rayne turned off her phone and turned to go back to Yami and Bakura.  
  
***  
  
Upon her return, Rayne looked to Yami and Bakura in a sort of happy-go- lucky way.  
  
"Okay, you guys. I'm just going to go in there and see something, okay? Who knows? Maybe they'll let us in."  
  
"Well, we'll come with you." Bakura said rising.  
  
"NO!" Rayne said quickly. "Uh, no. Just stay here," she said nervously and walked away relatively quickly.  
  
Yami and Bakura looked after her strangely, and then looked at each other.  
  
"So you're sure we can trust her?" Bakura asked.  
  
Yami simply looked him and shrugged, completely taken aback by Rayne's suddenly bizarre behavior. He looked after her again, and didn't notice when YaBakura took over Bakura's conscious.  
  
"That girl is definitely hiding something," he thought. "But what could it be?"  
  
***  
  
Rayne walked boldly into Kaiba Corp. much less nervous than she had been a few minutes earlier. She didn't know how else to protect her cover, but she knew that they would find her sudden need to do things in privacy would come off as suspicious. She only hoped that they trusted her enough to play along for now and ask questions later.  
  
Rayne strode up to the main desk just as the secretary was getting off the phone. She looked quite rattled, as if she'd just gotten some startling news. The secretary looked up at Rayne and her look changed to one of slight shock.  
  
"Can I help you?" she asked in a sort of flat tone.  
  
"I take it from the look on your face a couple of seconds ago that you got the call from my superior."  
  
"Excuse me? Is this some joke?" she asked, a bit ruffled.  
  
"No, miss. I assure you, it's not."  
  
Rayne then reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a wallet-like pouch. She opened it to reveal her badge and ID card. The secretary looked at it stupidly.  
  
"You're.the agent they sent?" she asked dumbly.  
  
"Yes, I am. I assure you that my age doesn't affect my work. I have two associates outside. Once I go to get them, I'll be back to start my search. That 's all right, I trust?"  
  
"Uh, yes," she replied quickly. "That'll be fine.Agent Misaro."  
  
"Good."  
  
And with that, Rayne replaced her badge and walked out, leaving the poor confused secretary looking stupidly after her.  
  
"I swear, this is like something out of 'Spy Kids'." she mumbled.  
  
"Isn't it, though?" Rayne said over her shoulder, as she'd heard the secretary's comment.  
  
Rayne walked outside and waved to get Yami and YaBakura's attention. They looked up and noticed her waving wildly. She motioned them to come on, and went back inside, sitting in a chair to wait until they got there. Yami and YaBakura looked to one another, blinked, then got up and walked to the entrance.  
  
***  
  
A few minutes after flagging them over, Yami and YaBakura walked into the main lobby of Kaiba Corp. Rayne got up and walked over to them grinning slightly.  
  
"Took you two long enough," she said in a sort of triumphant tone. "We're in."  
  
"What? How'd you do it?" YaBakura asked in an awed sort of voice.  
  
"I have my ways." Rayne replied winking at him. "Let's just get started looking for this clue."  
  
"Where should we start?" Yami asked her.  
  
"Well, I doubt there would be a safe or something of the like down here in the lobby, so I guess we should start on some of the upper levels."  
  
"How will we know where to look?" YaBakura said, asking the obvious question.  
  
"Hm. Perhaps my new friend can be of assistance." Rayne said walking over to the secretary's desk.  
  
"What's she talking about?" YaBakura said to no one in particular.  
  
"Hard to tell." Yami replied.  
  
YaBakura gave him a sidelong glance, then returned his gaze to Rayne who was conversing with the secretary in a hushed voice. He tilted his head to the side slightly and gazed smiling slightly at her legs. Thoughts raced through his mind and his smile widened, and then she spun around and started walking towards the two. YaBakura quickly came out of his suggestive thoughts and returned to his nonchalant state.  
  
"I got these from the secretary." Rayne said handing Yami a long, rolled up piece of paper.  
  
"What is it?" he asked her staring at the paper a bit confused.  
  
"They're blueprints of the top floor, where Kaiba's office is," she replied. "That's where we're headed."  
  
"Oh. Well, let's get going then. We can look these over when we get up there."  
  
YaBakura and Rayne nodded in agreement, and started walking over to the elevators, Yami quickly following. They let him take the lead, and upon reaching the elevators, YaBakura pulled Rayne to the side slightly.  
  
"How did you manage to get these? The blueprints, I mean."  
  
"I'm a government agent." Rayne replied smiling playfully.  
  
"Heh. Right." YaBakura replied sarcastically. "Seriously. How'd you do it?"  
  
"Well, I guess I'm just a persuasive person," she said nonchalantly. "That and the secretary's not too hard to trick."  
  
"I see."  
  
YaBakura gave her an odd look as the elevator finally reached the bottom floor and she got on. Yami caught the look and gave him a quizzical glance, but YaBakura gave him a dismissive gesture, and walked after her. Yami sighed, as he knew that now both of them were hiding something now, but he dare not ask about it. Not yet, anyway.  
  
***  
  
Seto Kaiba sat in the backseat of his customized Lexus looking out the back window. He'd noticed that Yugi and a few others had skipped out of school during lunch, and wondered where they could have went. Not that he cared, really. It wasn't as if they were his friends. He had no friends, only business associates, and he learned he had to watch them just as closely, if not even more so. It was just that basic curiosity that ate at him. What exactly was Yugi up to that made him have to leave school? He was about to get his answer.  
  
Kaiba's cell phone rang as the car just got on the freeway ramp. He quickly reached to his breast pocket and pulled out his sleek, black phone.  
  
"Kaiba," he said in his even tone.  
  
It was the secretary that had let Rayne, Yami, and YaBakura gain access to Kaiba's company. She sounded a bit panicked, and spoke in sort of a hurried voice.  
  
"Sir, this is Stacy from the main lobby desk. I don't think you'll believe what's happened."  
  
Kaiba's expression changed from a calm one to one of a mix of curiosity and annoyance.  
  
"I'll be the judge of that. Tell me what's going on."  
  
"Well, sir." she began, "Not too long ago, I got a call from Interpol."  
  
"Interpol? Why would they be calling me?"  
  
"It had nothing to do with us, sir. We've done nothing wrong. A 'Chief Grimalk' called saying that an agent would be coming in to do a search of the building regarding an important case, and any attempts to stop them would lead to action being taken."  
  
Kaiba simply made a noise that sounded like anger and anxiety mixed together and let the woman continue.  
  
"Well, not a minute later, a girl came in saying that she expected that I'd gotten a call to her superior. She said she was the agent they'd sent."  
  
"Was it some sort of prank?" Kaiba asked seriously.  
  
"No, sir. She showed me her badge and ID card, and they were both legit. She said she had two associates that she would have to go get and that she would be back shortly. She brought them in, and who one of them as is the reason why I'm calling you."  
  
Kaiba had a feeling he might know who it was, and narrowed his eyes slightly.  
  
"Let me guess. One of them was Yugi Muto."  
  
"Uh, yes, sir," the woman replied surprised. "How did you-"  
  
"Never mind that. Did you let them in?"  
  
"Yes. I figured that you would want them in, given Chief Grimalk saying what he did."  
  
"Hm. Well, tell me this. What was the name of the agent who started all this?"  
  
"Her name was Rayne Misaro, I believe."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"That's the name of the girl who just transferred here! Why would she even enroll in school? Better yet, why would she be here in Domino?"  
  
Stacy, trying to tell him something else, interrupted Kaiba's thoughts.  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"There's something else. Agent Misaro asked for blueprints to your office."  
  
"What? Why would she need blueprints for my office?"  
  
"She didn't say, but she was very nice about asking for them."  
  
"I'm on my way. Don't let them leave."  
  
"Uh, I'll do that, sir," she replied, taken aback.  
  
Kaiba hung up his phone rather quickly and replaced it to his pocket. He rolled down the blacked-out, soundproof partition that separated him from his driver and got up closer to make sure he heard every word he said.  
  
"Step on it. Something important has come up and I need to get to the office now."  
  
"Yes, sir, Mr. Kaiba," the driver replied, never taking his eyes off the road.  
  
Kaiba sat back with a slightly angry on his face. He would catch up with this Interpol agent and find out exactly what was going on. And he would find out how Yugi was involved. It might actually prove to be an interesting encounter. He didn't know how right he was. 


	5. Caught In The Act

Chapter 5  
  
Rayne, Yami and Bakura, whom YaBakura decided to let take over for a while, were walking down a corridor on the top floor of the Kaiba Corp. building. One side was nothing but a long window, while the other was a wall separating themselves from offices. One would normally enjoy the view, but Rayne was acrophobic, so she stayed well near the smooth, gray, plaster wall, and tried hard not to look outside. Bakura noticed her sudden anxiety, and touched her arm.  
  
"Are you all right?" he asked with genuine concern in his voice.  
  
"Yeah. Fine." Rayne replied in a shaky voice. "Just noticed that we're kind of.up here.you know?"  
  
"Yes, this is pretty high," he replied. "I wouldn't doubt if I could see my house from here."  
  
Rayne appreciated Bakura's trying to ease her nervousness by making that little joke, but it unfortunately didn't work. Yami glanced behind him slightly smiling, finding Bakura's joke amusing in a way. He barely noticed when someone came out of the office in front of them and barred his path. He stopped suddenly and looked down at the little guard. It was none other than Kaiba's little brother, Mokuba.  
  
"Uh, Mokuba! What are you doing here?"  
  
"I could ask you the same question, Yugi."  
  
He then looked past them and noticed Rayne and Bakura standing behind him. Rayne gave him a sweet smile and waved. Mokuba blushed and started looking at his shoes. Rayne got a sly smile on her face, and began walking over to him.  
  
"Let me handle this," she whispered to Yami as she passed by.  
  
She slowly walked over and got eye-level with Mokuba and lifted his chin so that he was looking at her.  
  
"Hi there. Your name's Mokuba, right?"  
  
He nodded slowly and blushed even redder.  
  
"Well, Mokuba, we have to do something very important in this office, so can we get through here? Please?"  
  
Yami heard the extra sweetness Rayne had mixed in with that last "Please?" and shook his head in wonder.  
  
"I shouldn't, 'cause my brother Seto's not here."  
  
"Oh, Seto won't mind. One of his secretaries called him and let him know that we're here. He knows that we're going into his office. It's perfectly fine." Rayne told him, not knowing that what she just said had actually happened.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Definitely."  
  
"Positive?"  
  
"Only fools are positive."  
  
Mokuba looked sort of shaken by her answer, then smiled and nodded at Rayne. He turned and opened the doors to Seto's office.  
  
"Go ahead and look around," he said to Rayne.  
  
Rayne smiled and patted Mokuba on the head as she passed by him, which made him turn the deepest red Yami had ever seen. He followed after Rayne, and Bakura followed after him, leaving Mokuba outside. He leaned on the doorway and watched them, thinking about how Kaiba wouldn't let Yugi in here for anything, so he must not know about him, and how that girl must think he's just your average kid. She didn't know whom she was dealing with. Mokuba pushed off from his perch and walked to the elevators. He'd go down and make a little phone call to confirm his theory.  
  
***  
  
Yami had rolled out the blueprints of the room on a small coffee table Kaiba had is his office. Rayne and Bakura looked over it carefully noticing small boxes in the walls where safes would be located. There were also numbers below them, which one would think would be combinations to the locks.  
  
"Remember. We're only after something that could help find Joey." Rayne said to Yami and Bakura.  
  
They nodded in agreement and got up from their seats.  
  
There were three safes all together, one for each of them. They spread out and quickly found the safes, two behind portraits, the last cleverly located behind a stack of books in a large bookcase. They got into them easily, took out the contents, and put them all on the table to see if anything of use was there.  
  
***  
  
Kaiba was quickly let out of his car, and he walked just as quickly up the walkway and through the entrance of his company. As he walked past the main lobby desk where Stacy seemed to wilt as he passed by without a word to her, he saw Mokuba getting out of the elevator. Mokuba saw him as well, and ran over.  
  
"Big brother! You'll never-"  
  
"I know, Mokuba. Yugi's here now with that girl, and they're probably still in my office, aren't they?"  
  
"Yeah! We should get up there right now, Seto."  
  
"You're right. Let's go."  
  
Kaiba quickly walked to the elevators and got on the one Mokuba had just stepped off of. Mokuba trotted in after him and they both stared straight ahead as the doors of the elevator closed to take them to the top floor.  
  
***  
  
"There isn't anything except company documents here. Nothing that could help us find Joey." Rayne said disgustedly.  
  
"Yes. These are just your basic company files. No clue here." Yami said discouraged.  
  
"So this was just a bust, then?" Bakura asked sadly.  
  
"That about sums it up." Rayne said rising with the files in her hand, making to return them back to their place.  
  
Yami and Bakura did the same and replaced everything to the walls where they belonged. They grouped back at the table and looked at one another.  
  
"Well, if the clue's not here, then where is it?" Rayne said a bit angrily.  
  
"Maybe we aren't looking in the right place like we did last time," Yami voiced.  
  
"That could be the case," Bakura said looking at Rayne.  
  
"Maybe." Rayne mumbled, getting lost in her thoughts. She was rudely snapped out of them when an icy voice began speaking from behind her.  
  
"Perhaps I can be of assistance," it said.  
  
Yami and Bakura's eyes widened at the sound of it, and they slowly turned behind them to face the one person they didn't want to see. Rayne also looked behind her to see somewhat tall boy around her age with brown hair and blue eyes staring back at her. One look at his clothes and Mokuba standing beside him told her all she needed to know. She was looking at the one person that could compromise her current situation. Seto Kaiba. 


	6. In the Den of a Dragon

Chapter 6  
  
Rayne looked at Seto as if he was her number one enemy. His secretary probably told him all about her, so he could be considered as much. All she knew was, if he told Yugi and Bakura about her, everything was going to go to Hell in a hand basket.  
  
"Well, Yugi. Bakura. To what might I owe the pleasure of you being here?"  
  
"Listen, Kaiba. It's extremely important that we be here." Yami said in a serious tone.  
  
"I'd like to hear your reasoning," Kaiba replied in a dark voice.  
  
"I can't explain it. All you need know is that we're just about to leave anyway."  
  
"You may be, but your new little friend behind you won't be so quick in joining you."  
  
"What? What would you need with-"  
  
"It's okay, Yugi." Rayne said suddenly. "I feel I need to have a nice long chat with Kaiba."  
  
Yami gave her a quizzical glance, but she didn't notice, as she was staring at Seto with considerable attitude.  
  
"You and Bakura can just go. I'll be down with you shortly," she said, never once taking her eyes off of Kaiba.  
  
"Are you sure, Rayne?" Bakura asked her.  
  
"Yeah. I won't be long."  
  
"All right. We'll be downstairs in the lobby," Yami said making his way to the door, Bakura following close behind. Kaiba remained in the doorway as Yami approached, smiling slightly as Yami gazed at him with a look bordering on hatred. Kaiba's smile simply widened and he stepped out of the way to let them pass. Bot Yami and Bakura shot him a last withering glance as they passed and walked down the hall.  
  
"You'd better go with them, Mokuba. Just to make sure they don't get in any other places they have no business being in."  
  
Mokuba looked a little shocked at his brother's suggestion, and opened his mouth to protest, but then saw the look in his eyes as he gazed at Rayne, and thought the better of it. He simply turned, and with a quick glance behind him, followed Yami and Bakura to the elevator.  
  
Kaiba looked over his shoulder to make sure the others were out of earshot, and closed the door.  
  
"Now, Miss Misaro, I think we should have a little chat."  
  
***  
  
Yami, Bakura, and a slightly peeved Mokuba stood in the elevator going back to the bottom floor. Yami was thinking about the looks that Kaiba and Rayne were exchanging before they left.  
  
"Kaiba knew something about Rayne that we don't," he thought. "More than likely, it's something that Rayne would keep secret with her life, so how would Kaiba know?"  
  
Bakura looked over at Yami and noticed he was thinking hard about something.  
  
"Yugi? What is it? You seem to be a bit lost in thought."  
  
"I am. There's something Rayne's hiding that I believe is very important."  
  
Mokuba heard Yami's comment and looked over at him.  
  
"I heard my brother say something about that girl," he said aloud. "It was really a mumble, but I know I heard him say something about the government."  
  
Yami and Bakura looked in shock at Mokuba's statement, then at one another.  
  
"The government?" they said in unison.  
  
***  
  
Rayne was seated on the couch in front of Kaiba's desk fixing him with a stare that would normally make a man wilt. Kaiba sat back in his chair smiling nonchalantly at her rocking back and forth slightly. He then stopped and rose from his chair. He walked over to a small cart with a few beverages on it and began pouring himself a glass of water.  
  
"Can I get you anything, Miss Misaro? I wouldn't want to be a rude host," he said in a calm voice.  
  
"Cut the crap, Kaiba." Rayne replied haughtily.  
  
"What? I'm just trying to be nice," he said turning to face her smiling.  
  
"You know who I am, I know who you are, so why not knock off the nice guy act and be straight with me?" she said glaring at him. The tone she'd used just then had such an icy edge, Kaiba swore he felt a chilly draft blow through the room in the back of his mind. His smile dissipated, and he quickly returned to his seat and returned Rayne's grim stare.  
  
"All right. You want me to be straight with you? Why shouldn't I have both you and your superior's badge for coming in here and running a search without a warrant?"  
  
"Simple. This is a very important case that's time-sensitive and I didn't have the time to run it through the courts. I figured you wouldn't mind."  
  
"You figured wrong."  
  
"Well, like I said, I'm involved in a time-sensitive case, and I need to get in here to look for a clue that could make or break it, so I really couldn't give a damn whether you mind or not."  
  
"You might not, but the courts would. Coming in here without a warrant is an invasion of privacy, last time I checked."  
  
"Look. This kidnapping case is extremely important. The lunatic said the next clue to finding him would be here, so we came here. And why am I telling you all this? You have nothing to do with it. I'm out of here."  
  
"You walk out, the next call I make is to my lawyers."  
  
Rayne stopped in mid-air as she was getting up from her seat, and glanced up at Kaiba. If looks could kill, he'd be about six months gone. She slowly sat back down, knowing that with someone like Kaiba, from what she gathered, he meant every word. The last thing the government needed was someone like this guy on their backs.  
  
"What exactly do you want, Kaiba?" she said in an even tone, trying hard not to lose her temper.  
  
"I want to know why Yugi Muto is involved."  
  
"Well, not that it's any of your business, but the kidnapped person is his friend, Joey Wheeler."  
  
Kaiba looked a bit taken aback by Rayne's response, but quickly recovered from it.  
  
"Why would whoever took him want Joey?"  
  
"More than likely to get to Yugi. The suspect seems to have a vendetta against him."  
  
Kaiba spun around in his chair to face the window and began to think.  
  
"So someone's after Yugi, and is using Joey to get to him. Whoever it is will be in for a rude awakening if he believes that Yugi would take that lying down."  
  
He then turned back around slowly and fixed Rayne with a calm look. Rayne returned his look with one of pure annoyance.  
  
"Can you chill with the "James Bond" bad guy stuff? It's really starting to get on my nerves."  
  
Kaiba chuckled slightly at her comment.  
  
"So Tough Cop has a sense of humor," he said in a bemused voice.  
  
"More than I can say for you. Are we done now?"  
  
"Just a few more questions, Rayne. I can call you Rayne, correct?"  
  
"Only if I can call you Dumbass."  
  
Kaiba chuckled again and lowered his head to try to hide the fact that Rayne was beginning to ruffle his feathers. He failed miserably.  
  
"Getting on your nerves, eh?" Now it was her turn to use a bemused tone.  
  
"No, not at all." Kaiba replied lying through his teeth. "Just admiring that quick wit of yours. Just answer this. How did you become involved with this, exactly?"  
  
"Well, the suspect left a letter saying that Yugi had a week to find him and Joey, and that he would leave clues behind to his whereabouts. It also said that Yugi could pick two people to help him, and I was one of the ones he picked."  
  
"And you're just doing this out of the kindness of your heart?"  
  
"Mostly. But I also believe that this guy may be the same one involved in a string of crimes that have surfaced recently."  
  
"Ah. I've heard about those. They said they were getting the FBI involved in it."  
  
"Well, it got transferred to us. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got an investigation to get back to."  
  
Rayne rose abruptly and began to take her leave when Kaiba began to speak again.  
  
"I don't know what you expected to find here, or do expect to find here, if you're not leaving just yet," Kaiba called, "but I'll make sure my security personnel give you full access to my building."  
  
"Appreciated." Rayne said over her shoulder.  
  
"Oh, and Agent Misaro?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Here."  
  
Rayne spun around just in time to catch a business card Kaiba had thrown at her. It seemed just like your ordinary car, with the Kaiba Corp. logo on the front. Rayne flipped it over to see that it had his personal phone line number written on the back.  
  
"Feel free to call if you should need any help with your search."  
  
"Heh. I'll do that." Rayne said slipping the card into her pocket and began to walk out.  
  
"Or anything else, for that matter."  
  
Kaiba looked at her as she stopped short for a split second, then continued on her way as if nothing had been said. Kaiba smiled slightly at her reaction to his last comment, and turned around to look at the city skyline from his window. He thought about how he should do some digging into Agent Misaro's background when he had the time, and look into these little string of crimes he'd heard so much about.  
  
***  
  
Rayne got off the elevator and walked out to the main lobby where Yami, Bakura and Mokuba were looking at something on the wall. Rayne got a curious look on her face and walked over to them.  
  
"What we starin' at?" she asked.  
  
"I think it's our clue." Bakura said never taking his eyes off the wall. Rayne looked at what had everyone so mesmerized and soon became mesmerized herself.  
  
A poster that no one had seemed to notice before was hanging in front of them. It was an advertisement for a circus that had come to town a couple of weeks ago. There were acrobats and fire-breathers, all that stuff one would expect at a circus, but this was a bit different. All of the performers seemed to have a demonic look to them. Long, sharp teeth, evil looking eyes, the works. It creeped Rayne out a bit, but she'd seen worse to be honest, so she wasn't too freaked out. What she really noticed was the black circle that was in the left-hand corner of the poster. It seemed to surround an address.  
  
"Check this out," she said pointing to it.  
  
Yami and Bakura looked at the circle, and came to a realization.  
  
"That's the address for the fairgrounds. I suppose he wants us to go there." Bakura said aloud.  
  
"Well, then, that's where we're going," she said snatching the poster off the wall.  
  
"Right." Yami said nodding. "I suggest we get going. It's around 4:00 now."  
  
"You're right. We need to get a move on."  
  
"I hope you guys bring Joey back safe." Mokuba said to them.  
  
"You told him?" Rayne asked looking at Yami.  
  
"He wouldn't leave us alone until we did," he replied.  
  
Rayne sighed and shook her head. She then patted Mokuba on the head.  
  
"Be good, kid," she told him.  
  
She then walked off towards the exit with Yami and Bakura close behind, her mind set on getting to the fairgrounds, but also thinking about some other things. As she walked on, Bakura noticed her reaching to her pocket and taking something that looked like a card out, then throwing it in the nearest garbage can.  
  
"What was that, Rayne?" he asked her.  
  
"Just some old trash," she replied. 


	7. A Much Needed Break

Hey there, everyone. I'm sorry that it's taken so long for me to update this. I've been rather busy. Also, thanks to everyone who's given time to review this. It's helped out a lot.  
  
I know you all are wanting to know what's going on with Joey. He's not in this chapter, but the next is practically dedicated to him, so hang on there. (And try not to kill me. You'll get your puppy-boy fix here soon.)  
  
Chapter 7  
  
Rayne, Yami, and Bakura walked along the busy street towards the nearest bus stop when Rayne began thinking about what she had before. They'd done a lot today, and who knows how many other clues this guy had left behind, so perhaps it was time to call it a day.  
  
"You guys," Rayne began, "I think we need to call it quits."  
  
"What?!" Yami replied. "What do you mean 'call it quits'?"  
  
"Just for today, I mean. We've been all over the city. We're all a bit tired, somewhat discouraged and angry, and I doubt this guy's going anywhere with Joey, so I say we stop for today and get an early start tomorrow."  
  
"Well, to be honest, I agree with you, Rayne." Bakura said. He caught the glance Yami gave him, and looked back apologetically. Yami simply looked away quickly and fixed Rayne with a somewhat icy stare.  
  
"You said yourself that Joey's who knows where, having who knows what done to him, and you're saying we should stop?"  
  
"Hear me out, Yugi. Like I said before. This running around having to figure out riddles and other crap has gotten us wound up so tight, we'll more than likely wear ourselves out if we keep going like this for too long. What use to Joey will we be then?"  
  
Yami heard the reasoning in Rayne's argument, and his outrage of what she suggested subsided. He closed his eyes and sighed, then looked at Rayne and Bakura with a much gentler face than it had been not a minute earlier.  
  
"I suppose you're right. Going at a pace like this for something this important is no good."  
  
"Exactly. I say we just go home, have a nice meal, and try to get some sleep. We'll get up bright and early tomorrow, and start fresh."  
  
"Yes. I say we meet at the fairgrounds at 7:00." Yami suggested to the group.  
  
"All right. You up for that, Bakura?"  
  
"Of course!" Bakura replied.  
  
"Well then, it's settled. We all meet at the fairgrounds at 7:00 tomorrow morning."  
  
Yami and Bakura nodded in agreement then sighed and lowered their heads slightly. Rayne looked at them a bit confused then gathered what the sudden depression was about.  
  
"Look, you guys. You guys have been friends with Joey a lot longer than I have, and I know you don't want to give up looking for him that easily, but I assure you, this is for the greater good. If anything happens to him because of this, you've got permission to kill me, okay?"  
  
Yami and Bakura looked up at Rayne with a quizzical glance, then at one another. They then smiled and looked back at her.  
  
"We'll hold you to that." Yami said to her.  
  
"I wouldn't doubt it. I'll see you guys later. Don't worry too much. We'll find him." Rayne said over her shoulder as she walked off.  
  
"All right. See you later, Rayne." Yami called after her, turning to go to his own home.  
  
"Remember, you guys! 7:00 at the fairgrounds!" Bakura told them. Both Yami and Rayne waved their hands at him in acknowledgement, and Bakura went off in another direction to go home.  
  
As Rayne walked along the street, she thought about how hypocritical is was to give advice she herself couldn't follow.  
  
***  
  
Yami reached the front door of the game shop owned and run by Yugi's grandfather. He sighed, and then let Yugi return to the world.  
  
After the short switch, Yugi hung his head sadly, and opened the door. He trudged in as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. In his mind, he did have the weight of a world on his shoulders. Joey's world. His family, all of his friends, including himself. He thought about how if anything should happen to him, he'd never forgive himself. Solomon, Yugi's grandfather, noticed Yugi come in and looked at him with a bit of playful scorn.  
  
"Well, you're home awfully late, young man," he said. He then noticed the sad look on Yugi's face and started to get worried. "Yugi? What's wrong?"  
  
Yugi barely noticed his grandfather speak to him, and slowly looked to him with teary eyes.  
  
"Grandpa. Something terrible has happened."  
  
"What? What is it, Yugi?"  
  
"Joey. He's. He's been."  
  
"What happened to Joey?"  
  
"He's been kidnapped.and if I don't find him in three days.he's going to die."  
  
Solomon looked completely shocked at what his grandson just told him. Yugi then broke down completely and fell to his knees crying. Solomon walked over and put his arms around Yugi.  
  
"It'll be all right, Yugi. Let's just go in the back, and you can tell me everything."  
  
Solomon then helped Yugi up and took him thorough the doorway to the back, where the store turned into a house. He sat Yugi on the couch in the living room and got him a few tissues, then sat down himself and let Yugi tell him the story.  
  
***  
  
Night had fallen, and Yugi sat on his bed in the dark. He couldn't stop worrying about Joey. He couldn't eat or sleep. No one blamed him, not Solomon and especially not Yami.  
  
Yami sat on the edge of the bed in his more spiritual form with his head on his clenched hands. He was thinking about Joey as well. Not only that, but he was also thinking about Rayne. Mokuba had given him a clue as to why she might be acting the way she has, but it was pretty hard to swallow. Rayne being some sort of government agent? That's absurd. Or was it? It would explain why Rayne had to make that phone call to her "parents" and how she got the blueprints for Kaiba's office. Perhaps there was something to Mokuba's claim.  
  
Yugi looked to Yami and saw that he was deep in thought. He wondered if he was thinking the same thing.  
  
"Yami?"  
  
"Yes, Yugi?"  
  
"Do you think that Joey might be."  
  
Yugi stopped short of finishing his sentence, but Yami knew what he was about to suggest.  
  
"No, Yugi. I don't think he's gone that far. He would keep Joey alive to get to the both of us. He plays a vital part in his plan, whatever it may be."  
  
"But how do we know that? It could all be just some trap set for us! Joey could already be dead, and we wouldn't know it!"  
  
Yami turned to Yugi at his sudden outburst and looked taken aback. He saw the sadness on his face and the tears in his eyes, and his features softened.  
  
"Listen, Yugi. I know exactly how you feel. But the fact is, we don't know a lot about what's going on, or why it's happening. We just have to hope for the best. Rayne was right when she said that we would find him. We don't have to worry about that."  
  
"It's not finding him that I'm worried about. It's how we'll find him."  
  
Yami sighed, then rose to walk around the side of the bed.  
  
"Yugi, you need to rest now. A good night's sleep will do you a lot of good. Sitting here all night worrying won't help anyone."  
  
"You're right, I guess." Yugi said lying down, not even bothering to change into his nightclothes. He then yawned, and began to doze. "Sleep is the best.thing.right."  
  
Yugi didn't even finish his sentence before he fell into a deep sleep. Yami looked down at him with a soft look in his eyes. He knew that Yugi was exhausted and needed this more than anything. He then walked over to the window and gazed out at the stars.  
  
"I'll find you, Joey. If it's the last thing I do."  
  
***  
  
Across town, Rayne lying on the plush couch in her downtown apartment just staring at the ceiling, thinking exactly what Yugi had. What if the guy had already killed Joey? Yugi would be crushed. She prayed that the kid was all right. He was kind of cute, in a way. It would be a shame to lose him. Rayne shook herself. This was no time to be thinking about romantic interests. She had a job to do.  
  
Rayne looked to her left and saw that she had the television on. She didn't even remember picking up the remote. That's when she saw her pet cat, Yue, who was a Ragdoll, sitting on the coffee table between them with the remote in front of him.  
  
"So you're the one who turned that thing on."  
  
Yue turned around at the sound of him owner's voice and meowed at her. He picked up the remote in his mouth and jumped off the table, coming over to the couch and putting the remote near Rayne's hand. He nudged it closer, and Rayne looked at him comically.  
  
"You want to watch that cat show on Animal Planet, don't you?"  
  
Yue meowed once again and began waving his tail around quickly. Rayne simply chuckled softly and turned the station. Upon seeing the show had already started, he nipped at Rayne's hand as if to say "See what you made me miss!" and returned to his perch on the coffee table. Rayne shook her head, then returned to her thoughts.  
  
"Why would he go to the city fairgrounds to hide the clue? It doesn't make sense. His trail isn't leaving any sort of pattern whatsoever. Even the craziest guys have a pattern."  
  
It just seemed to bug Rayne to no end. What was this all about, anyway? What had Yugi done to him that was so terrible, he'd stoop to kidnapping a friend of his and hold him hostage?  
  
"Maybe sleep will help." Rayne mumbled.  
  
"Mrow?" Yue turned slightly as he heard his owner's comment. Yue had always had good ears.  
  
"Nothing. Just make sure you turn off the TV tonight. You know you left it on last time."  
  
Yue's ears drooped slightly at her remembrance of his all-night "Felix the Cat" marathon on Cartoon Network the other night, and looked a bit sad for a moment. Then his favorite Whiskas commercial came on and he forgot everything Rayne had just said. He loved seeing the human eating cat treats. When Rayne first saw it with him near by, she swore it was the closest thing to a cat laughing she'd hear in her life.  
  
"Cable junkie," she said it loud enough so that she made sure he heard it.  
  
"Meow," he replied.  
  
Rayne got up from her spot and began to walk to her room.  
  
"I'm going to bed. Don't stay up too late. You know how you get all grouchy."  
  
"Mrow!"  
  
"Oh, yeah."  
  
Rayne stopped short and went to the kitchenette. She pulled out a large bag of Whiskas dry cat food and refilled Yue's food bowl, along with putting some fresh water in his water dish. She then gave a sort of salute to her long time pet, and trudged off to bed.  
  
Rayne quickly took a shower and slipped into her Badtz Maru nightshirt, then proceeded to collapse into her giant, fluffy bed.  
  
"There are perks to being an Interpol agent. You get the most comfortable beds."  
  
She then closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but she kept tossing and turning.  
  
"And I wouldn't be able to enjoy it. Dammit."  
  
Rayne slipped her hands behind her head and lay down on her back, staring at the ceiling again. She was worrying about not just Joey now, but Yugi as well.  
  
"And just as there are a bunch of perks to this, there's just as many pitfalls."  
  
She sighed as she thought about Joey and imagined his face as she remembered. Red from blushing, probably because of her, and kind of shy looking, but happy.  
  
"You've got to be all right, Joey. You just have to."  
  
***  
  
YaBakura sat on Bakura's bed, thinking hard about the day's events.  
  
"There's so much that girl is trying to keep hidden. Mokuba's claim that Rayne could possibly be involved with the government doesn't seem entirely farfetched. The way she's been acting is rather strange."  
  
YaBakura fell back on the bed and sighed slightly.  
  
"All I know is this is just another opportunity to get the things I want."  
  
He then smiled slightly as he thought about something that had crossed his mind earlier in the day.  
  
"Both of them." 


	8. The Rise and Fall of Hope

You'll all have to forgive me for not updating sooner. Senior year is a good kick where it counts, if you catch my drift. I do appreciate your patience, however. ^^ So without further ado, here's Jonouichi in all his blond, New York-accented glory. (It's more of a half-chapter, as I'm writing this to appease some people. * pokes implied people *)  
  
Chapter 8: Part I & II  
  
Joey sat on the cold, concrete floor, staring into nothingness. He knew it hadn't been that long since he woke up in this place, but it just had a way of making you feels so helpless. Not being able to sleep all night from fear of being fully investigated by his rodent bunkmates didn't help matters much either. All night he had to endure their scratching and squeaks, not to mention the odd noises he heard every now and again.  
  
"Who woulda thought I'd end up like this. Acting like some scared little punk outta some private school."  
  
Joey silently thought about where his captor had gone. He had come back to taunt him more throughout the night, but now he'd been gone for a couple of hours. True, he creeped Joey out to no end, but at least he could hear the sound of another human's voice.if it was human.  
  
"I gotta find some way to keep my mind occupied. Otherwise, I'm gonna lose it."  
  
Joey took to examining his surroundings more thoroughly. There wasn't much to look at, and the things that were there only made him cringe.  
  
Hanging all around were thick metal chains. Moss and mold grew all along the walls of the cell, crawling up toward the ceiling. It was then Joey finally noticed it.  
  
There so happened to be a window about 20 feet above him. It was the only thing probably letting oxygen into the prison. The light from the early morning sun shone through, and as he looked at it, Joey's hopes brightened as well.  
  
Joey quickly thought up a plan. He knew he had to work fast, since there was no telling when Psycho Freak would get back. Looking at the chains and the way the walls were built, he figured he might be able to make it up to the window with only a few problems. Walking up to the wall where the window was located, and getting a decent grip on one of the few handholds it provided, he began the hard climb upwards.  
  
There were a few times he had to cross over to the chains so he could get up higher, so he was glad he was so athletic.  
  
"Guess all those As in PE weren't for nothin'."  
  
After about a half-hour, to Joey's best guess, he finally made it to the window, only to find it barred.  
  
"Dammit! Where the hell's all that luck I had at Duelist Kingdom?!"  
  
He sighed heavily, and looked out the window longingly.  
  
"And here I thought I'd finally be able to catch a break."  
  
"Not today, little one."  
  
Joey froze at the voice and stared at the shadow that was suddenly cast over the ground in front of the window. He was back.  
  
"So, you thought you could escape, did you.? Guess again."  
  
Joey felt the same sensation come over him as when he was first attacked. He body began glowing red again, and he soon found himself being torn from the window ledge and falling back down to the cell floor. He landed hard on his back, hitting his head in the process and getting knocked unconscious once again.  
  
"You won't leave this place. Not until I get my revenge."  
  
***  
  
Kaiba sat in his office, rapidly striking away at his keyboard. His cerulean blue eyes had their usual iciness about them at he gazed at the screen. He so happened to be looking at Interpol's employee records he so easily hacked his way into.  
  
Kaiba wasn't worried about being caught; he was too good for that. After all, this was the guy who built the latest in Duel Monster hologram projectors. What was a secure government site to him?  
  
He quickly located Rayne's records and poured over them.  
  
"Name, Rayne Misato. Age, 16. Nationality, Japanese. Height, 5'10". Weight, Undisclosed. Merits, 14. Demerits.42?"  
  
Kaiba glanced over all the notes made for her reprimands. Assault, destruction of public property, causing a riot, and that was only to name a few.  
  
"Looks like someone has a bit of a temper problem."  
  
Kaiba rested back in his high-back leather chair and smiled.  
  
"Then again, who doesn't like a feisty girl now and again?"  
  
Just then, Mokuba walked into his office looking as if he had something on his mind.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Big brother.. I was wondering about that girl.."  
  
"That so-called agent? What about her?"  
  
"Well, she, Yugi and that other guy seemed pretty worried about finding Joey. From what they told me, it's a pretty bad situation."  
  
"What did they tell you?"  
  
"I sort of promised I wouldn't say anything.. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you."  
  
Kaiba listened intently to Mokuba's recount of what Yami and Bakura had told him of the happenings since earlier that day. Upon his conclusion, Kaiba went into deep thought.  
  
"Well, that was a lot more than what she let on.. So Wheeler really could end up dying.. Well, one less idiot in the world...."  
  
"Seto?"  
  
"What?" "I think we should try to help them."  
  
"It's not our problem, Mokuba. If Wheeler were to get himself killed, it wouldn't be any great loss to the world."  
  
"Yeah, but you may be able to win brownie points with Rayne."  
  
Kaiba glanced seriously at Mokuba over his laptop. It surprised him that Mokuba was becoming so perceptive for his age. He smiled arrogantly.  
  
"Perhaps you're right. I suppose I could try to find something..."  
  
"Send Rayne my best." Mokuba said over his shoulder as he left.  
  
"Heh. I'll be sure to." Kaiba replied, returning to his typing.  
  
*Will update later. * 


End file.
